SPHS 2018 graduation

Spain Park High School ushered about 400 seniors in the Class of 2018 out the door tonight in a graduation ceremony at Samford University’s Pete Hanna Center.

The Jaguars’ Class of 2018 received $20 million in scholarship offers and will accept about $10 million of those, said Tracy Prater, the school’s college and career specialist.

More than half the senior class — 52 percent — received scholarships, and now they’re headed to 138 colleges and universities in 34 states and Washington D.C., plus the U.S. Naval Academy and Air Force Academy, Prater said.

Sixty-one percent of the Spain Park Class of 2018 ended their high school career with a GPA of 3.0 or better, Prater said. Three of this year’s seniors scored a 36 — the highest possible score — on the ACT college admissions test, while nine were National Merit Scholarship Finalists and four were U.S. Presidential Scholar candidates (one of whom made semifinalist), Prater said.

Legacy of excellence, friendships

Woody Shin, one of Spain Park’s valedictorians who spoke at the graduation ceremony, said the Class of 2018 has left a legacy of excellence.

“Seeing this class grow up from timid freshmen to senior role models has been moving to witness firsthand, and I know that this class will not be forgotten within the walls of Spain Park High School,” Shin said.

However, the things that will stick with him the most are not the academic statistics or state championships they have won over the years, he said.

“It’s the support, friendship and compassion that you all have shown me over the past four years,” Shin said. “You all have made Spain Park feel like a second home to me and countless others, whether it be through our little club families or through something as simple as a smiling face in the morning, and I can never thank you enough for that.”

The road to graduation has been long and winding, with hiccups along the way, hills to climb and valleys to cross, “but yet here we are standing at the end of our journey and ready to start driving up the next mountain and begin the next chapter of our lives,” Shin said.

He asked them to reflect back on the nervousness they felt the first time they came into Berry Middle School together, the shining Friday night lights and blue and white shakers at Jaguar Stadium, the lab reports, all-nighters and lots of coffee they consumed. He asked them to remember the new friendships formed, old friendships strengthened, caring parents, passionate and tireless teachers and the times they shared with other another.

“We are all here because someone, somewhere along the way decided to invest in us, and I sincerely hope that this spirit of service, patience and kindness sticks with us moving forward,” Shin said. “We’ve cheered together, we’ve cried together, and we’ve stumbled together, but most importantly, we’ve grown together. Our time at Spain Park, the good and the bad, the fun and the hard, has shaped us into capable and ambitious adults, and knowing this class, I know that all of you are off to make a difference in your own little parts of the world.”

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Spain Park Class of 2018 graduation cap toss

The Class of 2018 from Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama, tosses their graduation caps in the air at their graduation ceremony at the Pete Hanna Center at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, on Wednesday, May 23, 2018.

'Fearlessly pursue' your heart's desires

Tanya Gupta, the other valedictorian who spoke, said everyone has endured their share of bad days, but if it had not been for their struggles, they wouldn’t be the people they are today.

“Life has and always will throw us curve balls,” Gupta said. “However, Spain Park has taught us all one thing that I advise everyone to remember as we tackle new endeavors in our lives — It is up to us how we take life’s challenges.”

She encouraged her classmates to focus on the journey ahead of them rather than the final outcome.

“Life never goes as planned, and it’s the experiences we undergo that help us define ourselves,” she said. “We build ourselves based on our successes and failures. As a new chapter in our lives begins tonight, I urge you all to go out there in the world and fearlessly pursue whatever your heart desires. I have been so lucky to be surrounded by peers who have never been afraid to put themselves out there. Spain Park taught us not to be afraid of failure but rather to learn from it. The world is truly our canvas, and Spain Park has helped us prepare our colors. Now it’s our time to paint.”

'Jags forever'

Senior Class President Brady Harp said that since the fall of 2011 when this group of students started Berry Middle School together, they have been through two presidential elections, two summer Olympics, the “dreaded Snowpocalypse” in January 2014 when students were stranded in school overnight, and multiple quests for state championships.

He noted their class won every spirit stick contest as seniors and also won one each of their junior and sophomore years.

“Even as underclassmen, we made our presence felt as the leaders of Spain Park,” he said. “My mom always told me to leave a place better than the way I found it, and I can say with joy that we’ve made a positive impact on this place that we are leaving behind.”

Harp said he’s excited about the adventures that lay ahead for this group of students and asked his classmates to use the memories they have made together as building blocks as they sculpt their future.

“I encourage you all to keep these past seven years close to your hearts because, although school is temporary, we’re Jags forever.”

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Spain Park High School Class of 2018 graduates

Kinder Cooper, at left, and Chris Sidor, members of the Class of 2018 from Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama, talk about their experiences at Spain Park immediately after their graduation ceremony at the Pete Hanna Center at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, on Wednesday, May 23, 2018.